Over the years, railway cars utilized for the transportation of automobiles and the like have progressed from the use of a simple flat car to more elaborate arrangements whereby the cars can be easily loaded and more recently into double and triple decked cars wherein more automobiles can be carried.
Some of the newer auto transport cars, are of the multiple unit articulated type wherein wheeled railway trucks support adjacent ends of the units thereby providing a more efficient car. Loading bridges have been utilized to span between the decks or floors of the cars so that automobiles can be loaded from one end throughout all of the units.
In the recent past, auto transport cars have been closed, that is, paneling has been inserted in the sides to aid in protecting the automobiles from theft and vandalism. With the addition of end doors on the units, the automobiles are also protected against vandalism and theft during their transportation.
Several problems exist particularly with the articulated unit cars since it is not practical to place end doors on each of the units but rather just on the end of the end units forming the car. Thus, there has been a space between the units through which vandals can enter and through which weather can affect the automobiles carried inside. Another problem that exists is that the cars have been constructed from steel for the most part and, due to weather conditions, rusting of the steel even with good paint and good maintenance results in the possibility of rust damage on the vehicles or automobiles being carried by the cars.
In accordance with the foregoing, it is highly desirable to provide a car for transporting automobiles that can be completely enclosed, that is constructed from materials other than steel to avoid the rust problem that reduces maintenance, and that includes some means for enclosing the space between the units of a car to prevent weather from affecting the cars as well as to avoid problems of vandalism.